


Flowers

by cannedpeaches



Series: All Roads Lead Me to This Place [8]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff, I just wanted to write something cute for these two, Joel is a giant sap, and Tess doesn't know what to do with it, because obviously, mostly rated T for swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 10:06:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5662348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cannedpeaches/pseuds/cannedpeaches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joel has a surprise for Tess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers

The dandelions looked comical in Joel’s large hand. Slightly crushed and oozing sap, a cheerful yellow against his rough skin.

Tess knew perfectly well what the flowers were, but she still gawped at him, still said, “What the fuck?” when he came through the door to her apartment, clutching them like they were real gold.

A red flush slowly climbed Joel’s neck and slid into his cheeks. “Er.” She could read the unspoken words on his face: _It seemed like a good idea at the time?_ Instead, he mumbled, “Thought you might like ‘em,” his eyes decidedly focused on his worn shoes.

Tess put her hands on her hips. “Never would have taken you for a sap,” she said, her barely restrained bark of laughter creeping into her voice. She had never seen him so embarrassed before. “Endearing” was not a word she often used to describe her partner of three years, but sometimes, he surprised her.

“Dumb idea,” Joel said, sidling back toward the door. “Shouldn’t’ve --”

A cold sliver of anxiety flashed through Tess’s chest. “Oh, c’mon. You picked them, I might as well keep them.” She went to the kitchen sink, grabbed the now-empty can of soup from last night’s dinner, rinsed it, and filled it halfway with water.

But when she crossed the room, her hand outstretched, to retrieve the flowers, Joel took another step toward the door.

“You don’t have to keep ’em if --”

Tess sighed. “You went to the trouble of getting them for me. Might as well.”

Joel reluctantly turned over the flowers, still not looking at her. When she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, though, she thought she saw him smile behind his beard.

Neither of them said anything when the flowers were still there a day later, then a week later, brown and soft and rotting in the can of water. Tess didn’t have the heart to throw them out.


End file.
